Senate Bill sb2002

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2002

    By Senator Fasano





    11-1405A-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to water treatment facilities;

  3         creating a pilot program to assess the efficacy

  4         of anion exchange for removing hydrogen sulfide

  5         from groundwater; requiring the Department of

  6         Environmental Protection to administer the

  7         program; providing for the program to fund

  8         construction of certain treatment facilities at

  9         water treatment plants owned and operated by a

10         specified utility company in Pasco County;

11         providing criteria for the department's

12         administration of the program; prohibiting the

13         Florida Public Service Commission from setting

14         rates that allow a utility to recover from its

15         customers moneys that are paid under the

16         program for treatment facilities; providing for

17         facilities constructed using funds provided

18         under the program to be held in trust for the

19         benefit of utility customers; providing for

20         exclusion of the value of such facilities in

21         the sales price if the utility company is sold

22         to a governmental entity; providing an

23         appropriation; providing an effective date.

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25         WHEREAS, hydrogen sulfide is present in aquifers

26  underlying many areas of this state and the use of raw

27  groundwater pumped from these areas to provide drinking water

28  creates problems of taste, odor, and color and deteriorates

29  water lines, fixtures, and appliances, with greater

30  concentrations of hydrogen sulfide causing more severe

31  problems, and

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2002
    11-1405A-07




 1         WHEREAS, for over a decade the residents of Pasco

 2  County have experienced these problems of taste, odor, and

 3  color and the deterioration of water lines, fixtures, and

 4  appliances as a result of receiving potable water from Aloha

 5  Utilities, Inc., which has varying concentrations of hydrogen

 6  sulfide, and

 7         WHEREAS, after extensive study by various consultants

 8  and consideration of options to solve these problems, an

 9  independent consultant retained by the Florida Public Service

10  Commission agreed that a water-treatment process known as

11  "anion exchange" is the treatment option most likely to

12  cost-effectively eliminate or minimize the hydrogen sulfide

13  issues, and

14         WHEREAS, while anion exchange has been successfully

15  used to produce quality potable water, it has not been used to

16  remove hydrogen sulfide from raw groundwater, and

17         WHEREAS, anion exchange appears to be a promising

18  solution to problems involving hydrogen sulfide which exist in

19  many areas of the state, particularly in areas where space to

20  construct the treatment facilities is limited, and

21         WHEREAS, it is in the public interest of this state to

22  help fund a large-scale project as a pilot program to confirm

23  the efficacy of anion exchange as a treatment process to

24  remove hydrogen sulfide from raw water withdrawn from the

25  Floridan Aquifer, NOW, THEREFORE,

26  

27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

28  

29         Section 1.  (1)  The Department of Environmental

30  Protection shall administer a pilot program to assess the

31  efficacy of anion exchange as a treatment process to remove

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2002
    11-1405A-07




 1  hydrogen sulfide from raw water withdrawn from the Floridan

 2  Aquifer by hiring Aloha Utilities, Inc., to construct

 3  treatment facilities using that process at wells 2, 3, 4, 6,

 4  8, and 9 at the water facilities it owns and operates in Pasco

 5  County. The department shall:

 6         (a)  Review and approve all plans and specifications

 7  for the treatment facilities before construction;

 8         (b)  Limit payment to Aloha Utilities, Inc., to not

 9  more than $6 million for constructing the treatment facilities

10  and verify that each phase of construction is complete before

11  disbursing funds; and

12         (c)  Monitor the operation of the treatment facilities

13  for 1 year after the facilities are placed into service and

14  record the operating costs and effectiveness of the treatment

15  process.

16         (2)  The Florida Public Service Commission may not set

17  rates that allow Aloha Utilities, Inc., or its successors to

18  recover from utility customers any moneys paid to Aloha

19  Utilities, Inc., under this section.

20         (3)  Aloha Utilities, Inc., shall hold all treatment

21  facilities that are constructed using funds provided under

22  this section in trust for the benefit of its customers. If

23  Aloha Utilities, Inc., is sold to a governmental entity, the

24  sales price must exclude the value of any such treatment

25  facility.

26         Section 2.  The sum of $6 million is appropriated from

27  the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Environmental

28  Protection for the purpose of funding construction of

29  treatment facilities that use anion exchange for the pilot

30  program established under this act.

31         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2002
    11-1405A-07




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Creates a pilot program to assess the efficacy of anion
      exchange to remove hydrogen sulfide from groundwater.
 4    Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to
      administer the program. Requires the program to fund
 5    construction of certain treatment facilities at water
      treatment plants owned and operated by Aloha Utilities,
 6    Inc., in Pasco County. Provides criteria for the
      department's administration of the program. Prohibits the
 7    Florida Public Service Commission from setting rates that
      allow a utility to recover from its customers moneys that
 8    are paid under the program for treatment facilities.
      Provides for facilities constructed using funds provided
 9    under the program to be held in trust for the benefit of
      customers of Aloha Utilities, Inc. Provides for exclusion
10    of the value of such facilities in the price if Aloha
      Utilities, Inc., is sold to a governmental entity.
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